Awhile back when my Clearaudio Gamma S had about 3000 hours on it I sent it to Germany and asked them to re-tip it as I assumed it was nearing the end.. They sent it back and told me that it was fine and to only worry about it when it started to mis-track. Considering that I had given them the go ahead to tip it and they did not and given that they have all the right equipment to check it, I can safely assume that they were correct. They did however ask what I was using to clean it as the tip was very gummed up. I had been using LAST. I switched to Clearaudio elixir as I figured that if they know how to make a $15,000.00 stylus, they must know how to clean it!
So.. I ended up selling my Gamma for a good amount of money considering it was used and bought a Clearaudio Victory H. I keep my records clean with a VPI, my tip with the Elixir and.. importantly, I think, I pay attention on how I drop the cartridge into the groove. I don't just drop the que but lower it gently into the lead in groove trying to avoid any sudden hard snap thus hoping to extend the life of the cantilever as well. I have had this cartridge for about 5 yrs now with maybe 2000 hrs of use and have not heard any anomalies in playback as of yet. Letting your ears tell you what is going on with your cartridge may well be a good bet.
So.. I ended up selling my Gamma for a good amount of money considering it was used and bought a Clearaudio Victory H. I keep my records clean with a VPI, my tip with the Elixir and.. importantly, I think, I pay attention on how I drop the cartridge into the groove. I don't just drop the que but lower it gently into the lead in groove trying to avoid any sudden hard snap thus hoping to extend the life of the cantilever as well. I have had this cartridge for about 5 yrs now with maybe 2000 hrs of use and have not heard any anomalies in playback as of yet. Letting your ears tell you what is going on with your cartridge may well be a good bet.